


I'd Rather Be In Regina

by magicsophicorn



Series: Three's not a crowd (until the Charmings arrive) [2]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Coming Out, F/F, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-16
Updated: 2015-04-16
Packaged: 2018-03-23 06:47:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,032
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3758434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magicsophicorn/pseuds/magicsophicorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Snow liked to think she was pretty open minded and accepting. But then it was one thing for your daughter to have a girlfriend. It was quite another thing for your daughter to have TWO girlfriends, one of whom was a werewolf and your best friend, and the other was her ex-step-grandmother, a former Evil Queen and your ex-arch-nemesis. It was all a bit much.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'd Rather Be In Regina

**Author's Note:**

> A sequel of sorts to [Happy Birthday Regina](http://archiveofourown.org/works/3271562). Although it's not necessary to read that one first. Thanks to [AshKnight](http://archiveofourown.org/users/AshKnight/pseuds/AshKnight) for asking me to write more Red Swan Queen.
> 
> I shamelessly hijacked [this Red Queen prompt](http://magicsophicorn.tumblr.com/post/116497770101/thegirl20-red-queen-prompt-rubys-t-shirt) by thegirl20 on Tumblr and used it for ~~evil~~ Red Swan Queen.

Snow hurried into the diner. She was running late and feeling frazzled. It was the stupid birds’ fault. She’d had to sort out some dispute between a bluebird and a magpie. The whole thing was ridiculous, quite frankly, and why they couldn’t sort out their own problems she didn’t know.

She spotted Emma sitting in a corner booth and flopped down into the seat opposite her.

“Sorry I’m late. There was a thing with some birds. I had to…”

Emma gave her a funny look.

“It’s a long story. Doesn’t matter. How’s your day going?”

“Fine,” Emma said, shrugging her shoulders.

Snow narrowed her eyes. She was getting pretty good at reading Emma’s moods, not that her daughter seemed to give her any credit for that, and if there was one thing she knew it was that ‘ _Fine_ ’ did not mean fine.

“How’s Henry doing?” Snow asked casually, attempting to tease out what the problem might be. There was no point asking Emma outright, she’d just deny it and insist she was okay.

“He’s good. He has soccer practice after school today. The kid loves it, but a natural he ain’t. Please don’t tell him I said that.”

Hmm so it wasn’t Henry then. Alright, next guess.

“Anything exciting happening at the station? Any murders? Any fake murders?”

Emma gave her another weird look. Snow was well aware that subtlety wasn’t one of her natural fortes, but thankfully Emma didn’t call her on it.

“No. For a town full of fairytales, everything is surprisingly boring.”

So not work either then. Snow was running out of ideas. She wasn’t going to drop it though, so asking outright it would have to be.

“Is something bothering you Emma? You seem a little… grumpy.”

There was a loud snort next to her and Snow jumped, looking up to see that Ruby had arrived at their table to take their order without her noticing.

“Oh, she’s just feeling jealous, that’s all,” Ruby said with a teasing grin at Emma, causing her daughter to scowl and fold her arms.

Snow frowned.

“Jealous? Of who? What’s going on?”

“Oh Snow, you are so unobservant,” Ruby laughed. Another customer called her over and she smiled apologetically then dashed off quickly.

Unobservant? What was she missing?

Snow scanned her eyes round the diner, trying to hunt out the source of her daughter’s jealousy. She assumed it must be Hook, although she had thought that things had ended between them a while ago. But he wasn’t there. Perhaps she’d missed seeing him with someone outside as she’d entered?

“Oh Emma, is Hook with someone new?”

“What?” Emma squeaked, “No! Well, I mean he might be, I don’t know. I don’t care anyway. That ended ages ago.”

Well, she certainly sounded defensive. Yes, Snow decided, that had to be it.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Ruby reappearing at their table.

“Sorry about that. What can I get you guys?”

“I’ll have a grilled cheese and a hot chocolate,” Emma said.

“And I’ll go for the…” Snow stopped mid-sentence, her jaw hanging open in shock as she noticed Ruby’s t-shirt for the first time.

It was a figure hugging black shirt (that part wasn’t unusual) with a big red Canadian maple leaf on the chest, surrounded by the words ‘I’d rather be in Regina’.

“Ruby!” Snow squeaked, “Why are you wearing that?”

Ruby grinned, following Snow’s line of vision down to her chest.

“Because it’s true,” she said with a shrug and a sly glance at Emma.

Emma huffed and slouched down deeper into her seat.

Snow’s mind was reeling. She had always known that Ruby liked both men and women, in fact she’d had her suspicions that there might be something going on between her and Emma (after all, her daughter really did wear a lot of flannel). But Regina? Seriously?

And, wait, why was Emma acting like the t-shirt bothered her? When Ruby had said that Emma was jealous earlier had she meant about the t-shirt? Maybe her initial suspicions had been off, and there wasn’t anything going on between Emma and Ruby, but Emma wanted there to be?

“Ruby! You can’t wear that!” Snow hissed.

“Why not?” Ruby asked defiantly, putting her hands on her hips.

Just then the bell above the diner door chimed and the familiar click of heels echoed across the floor. Snow felt every muscle in her body stiffen.

“That!" she hissed, "That is why not!”

There was no way this could go anything other than badly. Sure Regina had a sense of humour, Snow had enough memories of sly fairy-tale comments during the curse to prove that, but not about this. There was no way in hell Regina would ever be okay with _this_.

“Miss Lucas,” Regina said with a nod as she approached their table.

Snow felt like a deer trapped in headlights, and she wasn’t even the one wearing the stupid t-shirt. Obviously Regina hadn’t noticed it yet.

“Miss Swan,” Regina continued. She frowned as she nodded to the blonde, taking in her folded arms and even more slouched than normal posture, “what’s the matter with you?”

Ruby snorted and Snow willed with all her might that she wouldn’t say whatever it was that Snow was pretty sure she was about to say.

“Oh don’t mind her, she’s just jealous,” Ruby said, grinning large enough to split her face in half and pulling at the bottom of her t-shirt to draw attention to it.

Of course. She had to go there. Snow shrank back in her seat awaiting Regina’s imminent explosion.

But it never came.

Regina read the t-shirt then raised an eyebrow, looking first at Ruby, then Emma, then finally Snow.

“Do you mind if I join you?” Regina eventually asked, and Snow released the breath she hadn’t even realised she’d been holding.

Emma scowled and Snow eventually managed to croak out “of course!” At which point Ruby rolled her eyes and left to go serve other customers.

What on earth was going on? Why was Regina so calm? Why was Emma so grumpy? Snow was utterly and terribly confused.

They sat together in awkward silence for quite some time, until eventually Ruby returned with food and drinks for Snow and Emma.

“I know you didn’t quite manage to order, Snow,” Ruby said as she set the plates and mugs down on the table, “but I figured you always have the same thing so I went ahead and ordered for you. Salad and a root beer for you Regina?”

Regina nodded and Snow picked up her drink and took a large sip, desperate for something to occupy her hands in the awkwardness.

“Of course you know _her_ order off by heart too,” Emma muttered, earning an eye roll from Regina and an amused grin from Ruby.

“Oh for goodness sake, Emma,” Regina sighed, raising her hand and twirling it in the air with a flourish, “is that better? Will you stop sulking like a child now?”

Snow frowned in confusion before she noticed that Ruby’s t-shirt now had an extra line underneath ‘I’d rather be in Regina’ which said _‘and Emma’._

Snow choked on her drink, spraying it out of her mouth in a fountain across the table in front of her.

“You know I’ve always wondered if people actually did that,” she heard Regina say with a chuckle.

“Okay will somebody please tell me _what_ is going on?” Snow demanded, well aware that her voice was several octaves higher than usual.

She looked desperately between the two women sitting opposite her and the one standing beside the table.

Ruby and Regina both looked pointedly at Emma, who sighed deeply.

“Well, you see, the thing is, Snow. We, well, we’re in a relationship,” Emma mumbled.

Snow understood the words that Emma was saying, but try as she might she couldn’t seem to make her brain understand their meaning.

“You mean, you and Ruby? You’re together?” Snow asked, eyebrows knitting together in confusion.

“Uh, no I mean, Regina, Ruby and I are in a relationship. Together. The three of us,” Emma said, looking anywhere but Snow.

Snow suddenly realised that Regina was holding Emma’s hand under the table.

“I don’t understand. How? When? What… I don’t… What?” Snow felt like she was hyperventilating. Nothing made sense. This could not be happening.

Snow liked to think she was pretty open minded and accepting. But then it was one thing for your daughter to have a girlfriend. It was quite another thing for your daughter to have TWO girlfriends, one of whom was a werewolf and your best friend, and the other was her ex-step-grandmother, a former Evil Queen and your ex-arch-nemesis. It was all a bit much. Jerry Springer would have a field day.

“I think I need some time to… process this,” Snow practically shrieked before anyone could say anything in explanation as she stood up shakily.

And as she hurried out of the diner she heard Regina say, “well, that went better than I expected.”

\--------------------------------

Four hot chocolates, one long bubble bath, two whiskeys, three hours of screaming at David, and one broken plate later, Snow felt much calmer.

She was just making herself hot chocolate number five when she heard a key turn in the apartment door. Since David was upstairs, she knew it must be Emma.

Snow took a deep breath, reminding herself that she was calm now. She was okay with this.

Emma came into the apartment but then stood shuffling awkwardly just inside the door.

"Would you like a hot chocolate, Emma? I'm just making one for myself."

"No thanks. I'm good. So, um, how are you doing?"

Snow finished making her drink and moved round to sit on the couch, gesturing for Emma to sit with her. Emma did so, but continued to fidget nervously.

"Emma I'm so sorry for the way I reacted earlier at the diner."

Emma's head whipped around to face her in surprise.

"No, it's okay, I mean, we shouldn't have sprung this on you like that. Although I'm not really sure what the right way to tell you would have been…"

"No Emma, no it's not okay. You're my daughter and I love you so much, and the only thing I want in this life for you is to be happy. So if your relationship with Ruby and Regina makes you happy, then I think it's wonderful and I'm so sorry it took some choice words from your father to remind me of that."

Emma was looking at her with tears shining in her eyes.

"He did huh? I'll have to say thank you to him later. Do you really mean what you said? You're okay with this?" she whispered, and Snow's heart broke all over again for the little girl she hadn't been there to love for all those years.

"Yes Emma, every word, with all my heart. There is nothing you could ever do that would make me stop loving you."

Emma leaned over and wrapped her arms around Snow in a hug, burying her face in her neck. Snow's own tears started to fall then. Emma so rarely allowed this kind of physical contact that every hug felt like a precious gift to Snow.

"Thank you Mom, I love you," Emma whispered into her neck and Snow couldn't help the happy sob that escaped her.

"I love you too, Emma."

"Hey don't forget about me, I love both of you too!" David shouted from half way down the stairs, making both Snow and Emma laugh.

He came down into the room, walking over to the couch and wrapping the pair in a massive bear hug.

"Thanks Dad," Emma said as David released the women and took a seat at the table.

He looked over at them with a wicked grin on his face.

"And hey, as a father, I have to say that I am _really_ looking forward to the opportunity to make both Ruby AND Regina uncomfortable by asking them about their intentions towards my daughter…"

Emma groaned, hiding her face in her hands, and Snow chuckled. She would _definitely_ like to be there to see those conversations.


End file.
